Childhood and Adulthood
by ringtailedpheonix
Summary: Sam and Zoro had been friends since they were younger. They trained together until one day Sam leaves suddenly. Now, nine years later, she re-appears and pays a little visit to her favourite swordsman.
1. Chapter 1

I came up with this idea and I just HAD to write the first chapter. This is the prologue.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.  
Enjoy!

It was the day just after Kuina's funeral. Zoro was sitting underneath a tree, trying to collect his thoughts. He had obtained Kuina's sword, the Wado Ichimonji, the previous night and in his opinion, that was the greatest gift ever bestowed on him.

Zoro was just thinking about what training regime he should do when he heard something rustle in the tree above him. The young swordsman glanced up just as a figure jumped down in front of him. A girl stared at him. She had dark brown hair and hazel-green eyes. She looked around Zoro's age, maybe a bit younger.

"Who are you?" Zoro asked.

"My name is Samantha. Sam for short."

"Hi, I'm Zoro."

"I heard about Kuina. I'm so sorry," Sam said.

"How do you know her?" Zoro asked.

"We were good friends," Sam replied.

"Did you ever beat her?" Zoro asked.

"No, she was too strong," Sam answered. "She told me a lot about you. She said you were the most amazing swordsman ever and that she wished you could become the worlds greatest swordsman."

"She said that?" Zoro gasped. Sam nodded. Zoro shoved her against the tree. "Don't talk shit!" He yelled. "Kuina would never say something like that!"

Sam looked at him with sad eyes. "She did. I'm not lying."

Zoro slumped to the ground. "But she would never say that," he whispered.

"Well she did," Sam said. "Would you… like to be my friend?" She gave Zoro a hopeful smile.

"Sorry, but I don't want any friends," Zoro said quietly.

"Don't be so clueless Zoro. There are people in this world who want to be your friend. That includes me," Sam smiled.

"But if I become friends with you, I'll lose you. Just like I did with Kuina," Zoro said.

"Well, I want to be your friend. I-I've always admired you." A light blush appeared on Sam's face.

"If I say I'll be your friend, will you stop pestering me?" Zoro asked.

"Yes," Sam grinned. She sat next to Zoro and the two started talking. They talked about their parents, though Sam was the only one who talked about her parents. They talked about hobbies and other things that they liked.

Sam began training with Zoro although she trained with a staff. The two sometimes had little battles but because they were still young and used different weapons, they figured it would be best to fight for only a little bit instead of trying to actually beat one another. They formed a bit of a rivalry, and they both aimed to be stronger than the other.

To be continued…

The next chapter will be set 9 years later, when Zoro is part of the strawhat crew.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.  
Enjoy!

Nine years is a long time to wait. Sam had waited nine years until she finally found the strawhat pirates. She had been sailing on a small boat, like always. Sam had been by herself for her whole life and the only time she ever felt like she belonged somewhere was when she was with Zoro, which was about nine years ago.

Sam realised, after sailing around the ocean for a bit, that she wasn't alone in this part of the ocean. She could see a big ship in the distance. It had a strange lions head in the front of it and it was heading right towards her.

On the Thousand Sunny…

"Look! There's a girl on a boat!" Luffy shouted.

"Really?" Nami asked.

"Yeah, look." Luffy pointed at Sam's boat.

"Okay Luffy, call out to her," Nami ordered.

"Oi! Girl! Come aboard on our ship!" Luffy yelled. When Luffy didn't get a reply, he stretched his arms and grabbed Sam.

"H-hey, put me down!" San demanded. But Luffy had already placed her onto the deck. She quickly got her staff out and was prepared to fight either one of them.

"Wow, you have awesome rainbow hair!" Luffy's eyes sparkled as he looked at Sam's hair.

"Thanks, I dyed it three years ago," Sam said.

"You've got green in your hair, just like Zoro," Luffy grinned.

"Zoro?" Sam looked around and saw Zoro sleeping, his swords by his sides. She ran up to him and jumped on his stomach.

"Ah! You just made a big mistake, whoever you are!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Huh? What's happening?" Zoro said as he slowly woke up. He looked sleepily at Sam. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Who do you think I am?" Sam leaned closer to Zoro so he could get a better look at her.

"Oh my god, Sam," Zoro said. He pushed Sam off of him and stood up. Sam did the same and gave Zoro a big hug.

"Now what did you do to your hair?" Zoro asked.

"I dyed it Zoro," Sam replied.

"It looks nice."

"So wait, you two know each other?" Nami asked.

"Yep, that's right. Zoro and I met just after Kuina died. We were sparring partners," Sam smiled.

"So what are you doing in this part of the Grand Line, Sam?" Nami asked.

"I was exploring."

"Ooh, exploring?" Luffy asked. "Did you find anything cool?"

"No, just the usual Grand Line monsters," Sam replied.

"Would you like to join my crew?" Luffy asked.

Sam shook her head. "No… uh, sorry but I don't know you're name."

"My name is Monkey D Luffy."

"Nice to meet you Luffy," Sam smiled. "As I was saying, I can't join your crew. There is actually something that I'm looking for. Except that information is classified."

"Ah, can't you just tell me?" Luffy groaned.

"I'm sorry Luffy, but I really can't tell you," Sam said.

"Luffy, leave her alone; if she doesn't want to tell you, you shouldn't force her," Usopp said.

"Well, would you like to temporary join our crew?" Luffy asked.

Sam's face broke out into a smile. "Sure, okay."

"Yay!" Luffy cheered.

"Oi wait, the girls room is full and I doubt Sam would want to sleep in the boys room, so where will he sleep?" Nami asked.

"She could always sleep in the kitchen," Sanji said.

"Well Sam, what do you think of that idea?" Nami asked.

"I'd like that," Sam smiled.

"Okay then, I'll go set up a bed in the kitchen," Sanji said. He disappeared into the kitchen for about 10 minutes before coming back outside to announce that Sam's bed was ready.

"Thank you Sanji," Sam smiled and went into the kitchen to see her bed. Sanji followed her.

"Does it live up to your expectations?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, it does, thank you so much."

"You're very welcome," Sanji said.

To be continued…


End file.
